With these online tools and services, deciding which bank to open a online savings account, checking account or certificate of deposit account is a lot easier then walking into several traditional brick and mortar banks trying to find the best rate possible for your investment.



I found out that Bank of the Philippine Islands offers a savings account that also acts as insurance. BPI Direct Save-Up is a partner savings account of the Express Teller Savings. This means, you need to have an Express Teller Savings account in order to apply for this service. Just having the Express Teller Savings account by itself already has a lot of advantages.

A description from the BPI website describes this service as, "it allows you to automatically save for sure payday after payday while enjoying higher interest rates. It also comes with FREE Ayala Life insurance as much as 10x your account balance, up to PHP 4 million". Unlike other savings accounts where you just get measly interest earnings, BPI Direct Save-Up provides you more than just that. By opening an account, you are automatically insured under Ayala Life Insurance Inc.

BPI Direct Save-Up works by automatically withdrawing a certain amount from your Express Teller Savings account at certain periods of the month. The amount and date to be withdrawn is specified by you during your application of this service. I set mine to 1,000.00 PHP once a month. The minimum amount to be withdrawn is 250.00 PHP.

The benefits covered by the insurance are:

1. Basic Life which is 5 times the accounts average month-to-date average daily balance (MTD-ADB) of the past 3 calendar months prior to the insured's death, up to a maximum of 2 million PHP.

2. Accidental Death whish is an additional 5 times the account's MTD-ADB of the past 3 calendar months prior to the insured's demise, up to a maximum of 2 million PHP.

3. Accidental Dismemberment which depends on the schedule of dismemberment benefits.

BPI has already arranged a hierarchy of beneficiaries. High in the list is your spouse if you have any, followed by children then parents and lastly siblings.

You need to be at least 15 and not more than 60 years old to qualify for this service. The life insurance coverage takes effect on the day your BPI Direct Save-Up account is opened and terminated on the first day of the month of your 61st birthday or upon closure of your account.

What I like best is you can withdraw money from your Direct Save-Up to your Express Teller Savings account for a maximum of twice a month. The monthly maintaining balance is only PHP 1,000. And for balances of 1,000 - 399,999 PHP, you get 1% interest, while 400,000 and above earn you 2%. This is a very good deal for me. I just happen to save money as usual and get this insurance for free.